Director of Alternative Education - 25-26 School Year

• The Director of Alternative Education serves as the Principal for Valley Alternative Learning Transition School (VALTS), Panhandle Beginnings Day Treatment School, and LifeLink NE

Job Title: Director of Alternative Education

Department: Alternative Education

Education Level and Certification: Masters degree or higher preferred. Must possess a Nebraska Administrative and Supervisory Certificate at all times during employment with such endorsements as required by NDE Rule 10 and all other required or assigned certification and training.

Reports To: ESU 13 Administrator

Terms of Employment: 195 Day Contract with separate work contract for any summer school program as agreed by the Administrator.

Required Job Tasks and Essential Functions

The Director of Alternative Education oversees the following student programs and serves as the Principal for Valley Alternative Learning Transition School (VALTS), Panhandle Beginnings Day Treatment School (PbDTx), and LifeLink NE.

1. Director of Alternative Education

• Serve as the educational leader of the ESU’s alternative education programs and as a positive contributing member of the leadership team.
• Administer, as Principal, the development and maintenance of alternative education program designed to meet the needs of students eligible for alternative education services and to carry out the policies of the Board of Education.
• Provide a leadership structure to ensure rules and instructions to alternative education program employees and students are in compliance with Board policy.
• Set or recommend educational standards and goals, including the minimum goal of maintaining accreditation, and recommend and implement policies and procedures to carry them out.
• Evaluate curricula, teaching methods, and programs to determine their effectiveness, efficiency and utilization and to ensure that the alternative education program complies with federal and state laws and regulations and Board policy or directives, and implement changes as appropriate.
• Determine the scope of alternative education program offerings and the staffing and facility required to provide the educational program.
• Observe teaching methods and examine instructional materials in order to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques, and to determine areas where improvement is needed.
• Plan and develop instructional methods and content for alternative education programs.
• Review and approve new programs, or recommend modifications to existing programs, submitting program proposals to the ESU 13 Administrator for Board approval as necessary.
• Collect and analyze survey data, regulatory information, and data on demographic trends to forecast enrollment patterns and curriculum change needs.
• Ensure completion of student assessments in accordance with Board policy and state and federal laws and regulations. Initiate program changes in light of such assessments.
• Ensure that the vision, mission and goals of the ESU 13 are adequately reflected in the alternative education program and operations.
• Ensure implementation of all board-approved curriculum and inclusion of state-mandated programs and curriculum content standards in the alternative education program.
• Prepare and submit to the ESU 13 Administrator and leadership team recommendations relative to all alternative education program matters requiring Board action, placing before the ESU 13 Administrator and leadership team such necessary and helpful facts, information, and reports as are needed to ensure the making of informed decisions.
• Organizes monthly advisory council meetings with principals and counselors along with quarterly VALTS board meetings and Panhandle Beginnings Advisory Council meetings.
• Develops and oversees the VALTS and Panhandle Beginnings budget.
• Develops and revises student handbooks and policies when necessary.
• Coordinate and direct extracurricular activities and programs, such as after-school events.
• Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
• Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
• Teach classes or courses to students when necessary in the absence of teachers.
• Coordinates and supervises any summer school programs.

2. Relationship with ESU 13 Administrator

• Attend and participate in Board meetings and its committees as requested by the ESU 13 Administrator.
• Submit to the ESU 13 Administrator explanation of any proposed procedure that would involve either departure from established policy or the expenditure of substantial sums.
• Act on own discretion if emergency action is necessary in any matter not covered by Board policy, report such action to the ESU 13 Administrator as soon as practicable, and recommend policy in order to provide guidance in the future.
• Make a continuous study of the development and needs of the school. Inform and advise the ESU 13 Administrator about the programs, practices and challenges of the school.
• Keep informed of current curricular and educational trends and practices, as well as proposed legislation impacting the ESU 13, and inform the ESU 13 Administrator of significant developments in these areas.
• Provide long term planning to guide Board policy development, present recommendations for the adoption or revision of Board policies, communicate Board policies to personnel, students, and the public, and ensure through delegation to staff that all policies of the Board are implemented.
• Serve as a leader to assist the ESU 13 Administrator to develop a vision for the ESU 13 and a comprehensive long-range plan. Recommend to the ESU 13 Administrator, annually, ESU-wide goals and monitor and report on the progress toward achieving established goals.
• Lead ESU 13 Committee work as requested by the ESU 13 Administrator.
• Confer periodically with professional and lay groups concerning the school programs and transmit to the ESU 13 Administrator and leadership team suggestions gained from such conferences.
• Assist in planning, coordinating, and overseeing school logistics, such as bus and food services.
• Assist in reviewing and interpreting government codes, and developing programs to ensure adherence to codes and facility safety, security, and maintenance.
• Required Knowledge: The Director of Alternative Education is to possess and effectively utilize knowledge in the following areas:
• Administration and Management—Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

FLSA Status: Exempt.

• Professional exemption: The employee has a primary duty of performing work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study or has a primary duty of teaching, tutoring, instructing, or lecturing in the activity of imparting knowledge and is employed and engaged in this activity as a teacher.
• Executive exemption: The primary duty of the employee is the management of a department or subdivision. The employee customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees and has authority to hire or fire other employees or the employee’s recommendations as to hiring, firing, promotion, or other change of status of other employees are given particular weight.
• Administrative exemption: The employee has the primary duty of performing office or non-manual work directly related to the management of general business operations of the ESU 13. The employee customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment or has a primary duty of performing administrative functions directly related to academic instruction or training in the ESU 13 or a department or subdivision.

Essential Functions: The essential functions of the Director of Alternative Education position include: (1) regular, dependable in-person attendance on the job; (2) the ability to perform the identified tasks and to possess and utilize the identified knowledge, skills, and abilities and to perform the identified work activities; and, (3) the ability to perform the identified physical requirements.

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  It is the policy of ESU 13 to not discriminate on the basis of sex, disability, race, color, religion, veteran status, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, or other protected status in its educational programs, admission policies, employment policies or other administered programs. Persons requiring accommodations to apply and/or be considered for positions are asked to make their request to the ESU 13 Administrator.